This past summer, the legendary Brazilian got to fight in front of his home country’s fans for the first time in nearly 12 years. And while the result was a loss in a five-round war to Rich Franklin, the “Fight of the Night” performance over 25 minutes gave Brazilians reason enough to know what they’d been missing in person.

On Saturday, Silva has another homecoming when he returns to Japan for his first fight there in six and a half years. Silva (34-12-1 MMA, 4-7 UFC) meets Brian Stann (12-5 MMA, 6-4 UFC) in the main event of UFC on FUEL TV 8, which takes place at Saitama Super Arena just north of Tokyo with a main card on FUEL TV after prelims on Facebook.

It’s the arena Silva made countless walks in while fighting in Japan as one of the most successful and revered fighters in PRIDE history.

As his career winds down – even though Silva won’t yet say how close he is to retirement – the chance to have back-to-back homecoming fights is an opportunity that isn’t lost on him.

“I had a dream to fight again in Japan,” Silva told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) earlier this week after arriving in Japan. “Thanks to Dana White and the UFC, I got the opportunity to headline and be in the main event. I’m ready for one of the greatest performances of my career right now.”

“The Axe Murderer” also said he’s prepared to give the Japanese fans a little of what they’ve been missing since he last fought in PRIDE. Silva signed with PRIDE in 1999 and went on an amazing 20-fight unbeaten run in that promotion that stretched more than five years. He went 18-0-2 with the company over that stretch with just a loss to Tito Ortiz in a UFC light heavyweight title fight standing between him and perfection.

His 15 knockouts or TKOs under the PRIDE banner was a record, and he hasn’t forgotten that. He wants to bring the same kind of vintage Silva against Stann.

“I was really happy (to find out I was fighting in Japan),” Silva said. “My dream was to fight in Brazil and in Japan, and I get to do two in a row. I had some of the best moments of my career over here, and I want to do the same thing right now.

“There will be a lot of emotion, and I think it’s going to be one of the best moments of my life. I’m going to enjoy every second.”

Part of enjoying every second this time around comes from not having to worry as much about his weight cut. Wight fights at 185 pounds against Michael Bisping, Chris Leben and Cung Le in 2010-11, Silva had no fun cutting down. He fought Franklin at 190 pounds, giving him five pounds fewer to worry about.

But against Stann, he’ll fight at light heavyweight. That extra 20 pounds makes a big difference to him. And while Stann is planning to return to middleweight after the fight with Silva, Silva would like to stay put.

“I feel good, I don’t have any injuries and I feel ready for this fight,” Silva said. “I feel good because I have a diet, but not like last time. I feel a lot happier because I can have carbohydrates, I can eat – not too much, but I feel better. Sometimes, when you lose too much weight, it’s hard on you. So this is good.”

Silva knows that Stann hasn’t been past the third round, and he knows that just this past June against Franklin, he went 25 minutes. And while that may give him reason to think he may have an edge deeper into the fight, he’s realistic about things.

Silva hits hard. And so does Stann. Silva really doesn’t like the prospects of the fight making it into the fourth or fifth round to test Stann’s cardio, anyway.

“This fight for sure isn’t going past the third round,” Silva said. “One guy’s going down, and it’s not going to be me. He’s a really good fighter. He’s strong, he’s fast, he has real good muay Thai. He’s a professional, and he’s a tough opponent. And it’s opponents like that that I like to fight. I like to fight tough guys, strong guys to prove things to myself, and I’m so glad to fight against him because I know we’ll put on a good show for the fans.”

Whether that show is his last before retiring remains to be seen. If it is, Japan will be an appropriate end point. And if not, the 36-year-old, who has three “Fight of the Night” bonuses in his past five fights, will continue to soldier on seeking more bonuses and more highlight reels, even if his homecoming opportunities will have run out.

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